Åsa Falk is Group HSSE Director (Health, Safety, Security, and Environment) at Nynas, a role that she started as an Executive Interim Manager. Nynas is a world-leading supplier of long-lasting, high-performance speciality products that protect and bind, lubricate, dissolve, cool, and insulate with a turnover in 2023 of 15,280 MSEK.
Can you tell us about your assignment at Nynas?
“There had been a gap in this function for a year and it had not been prioritised. They now wanted to show the importance of HSSE and move it up in the organisation and our CEO was very engaged in the work. As an Interim Manager, you hit the ground running and start delivering from Day One. My interim assignment has now turned to a permanent role with the task to analyse the organisation with the help of consultants to see what we do well and what we need to develop. It contains a lot of planning, and it is very complex to implement, but now we have the results and can start the work. My role also includes to set the plan going forward, prioritize, and setting the short- and long-time strategy. The safety issues include protected objects (fuel), and everything from safety in the refineries to preventing work overload and stress in the offices. The whole company must think of health and safety. It is easy to forget the people working in the office and focus on production. The risks at the production sites are very important, but it is not the whole business.”
Why did Nynas choose to engage an Executive Interim Manager?
”They needed a fast solution as the team was in urgent need of a leader and there was unrest within the organisation. As an interim, you can, based on your experiences, start delivering results at once. I’m used to be in a situation of chaos and just solve it piece by piece. You don’t need a long introduction or onboarding.”
You started your career within the forest industry, can you tell us more about your career?
“I started my career in the forest industry at Korsnäs (now Billerud) as an operator, then I took a break and studied at KTH (Royal Institute of Technology), and then progressed within the organisation to production, production development, efficiency improvements and production manager. After that, I changed industry and went to Mackmyra Whisky where I developed the manufacturing from prototype to full scale. This involved leading the daily business, hiring of personnel, and lead the production team. It is a tough period before you can start selling your products since the product need to be stored for at least 3 years before it can be labelled as whisky and even longer for it to be a premium product.
In 2004 I was hired by Sandvik Materials Technology, active in the production of tubes, steel strips and wire. I worked with LEAN production, improvements, and employee development as an internal consultant. I was then appointed Production Manager and by chance got to work in work environment which is very important on a production site. As a manager, I had to show that it is possible to work with safety and a work environment and show the other managers how to make this a part of the daily business. During my 10 years at Sandvik, I was involved in 14 reorganisations! I enjoyed having the possibility of trying new roles, such as Technical Manager and Maintenance Manager.
After a decade at Sandvik, I needed a new challenge and went back to Billerud Korsnäs to a role as Production Manager and later Corporate OHS Manager (occupational health and safety) with responsibility for the group work environment. Together with my team, I led large changes within the area, setting standards, processes, and structures.
In 2020 I decided to work as an Executive Interim Management and got my first assignment as Project Manager EHS (Environment, Health and Safety) at Coromatic at their project as critical environment operators at the Microsoft datacentres being built. I covered the EHS area both in issues related to working in a site still under construction as well as prepare for operation. The assignment lasted almost 2 years.
My next longer assignment was at Sandvik Coromant where I led a research team that needed an experienced leader. The team had lost competencies, lacked a manager and was in a state of limbo. Here, I worked a lot with team development and creating a community with cohesion. When I left, the team was well-functioning, engaged, and motivated, it is very rewarding to be able to make a difference, mend what is broken and set the prerequisite for sustainable results.”
What do you do to ensure a good work/life balance?
”I actually love strategical computer games! I play globally with the same people, you become friends. Me and my husband, who is also an Interim Manager, enjoy going to our mountain house in Ramundberget, both in summer and winter. Our children often visit us there and one of my sons works as a ski instructor in his spare time.
Another interest of mine is going to rock concerts, some of my favourite bands are Queen of the Stone Age, In Flames, and Ghost. There are many rock festivals in the area of Gävle where we live.”
#HSSE #HealthSafetySecurityEnvironment #ExecutiveInterimManagement
Read our interviews with Åsa’s husband Patrik Falk here: